Art on the Bluffs A Success!

IT'S OFFICIAL...ART ON THE BLUFFS ART WALK A SUCCESS!

Art on the Bluffs Hosts Artist Reception

The Artist's Reception party was a success! Thank you to everyone who was able to attend...it was a pleasure to meet so many of our talented artists!

ART WALK TOMORROW!!!

Yes, the Art Walk is tomorrow! And it looks like its going to be a beautiful day to get out and enjoy the fall weather in downtown Columbia. Festivities get underway at 10:00 a.m. and the fun goes till 4:00 p.m. Bring the kids, there'll be plenty for them to do too. Children's activities will be located on the Ace Hardware parking lot. There will be art activities, face painting and the YMCA is bringing their bounce house and obstacle course. A student art gallery can be found at Artisitic Expressions. Check out the scarecrows hanging along Main Street made by local students. Find over 60 artists located inside or outside 32 participating businesses. Take in the performances at 4 entertainment venues. Restaurants and food booths will also be located along the route. You'll find a wine tasting at Bon Vivant and a car rally at CarStar. Some businesses will also be offering art walk specials. We look forward to seeing you there!

2 DAYS TILL THE WALK!!!!

Columbia Art on the Bluffs and the 150^th Anniversary Committee will present their first annual Art Walk on Saturday, October 3^rd from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. along Main Street in Columbia. The event is being held in conjunction with the city’s 150^th Anniversary Celebration. The walk will cover 15 blocks along Main Street and will include artists’ booths both outside and inside thirty-two participating businesses. Over 60 participating artists from the region will be showing and selling their works. Works range from watercolor, photography, jewelry, pottery, glass, drawings, mixed media, oil/acrylic, pine needle baskets, ceramics and printmaking.

All the arts will be represented including a variety of musical artists and dance and drama performances happening at four venues along Main Street. Performing at “The Distillery” parking lot will be Mike Brennan at 10:00 a.m.; the YMCA Hip Hop Show at noon; Ernie Schoelhorn and Karen Lundy on guitar and vocals at 1:00; the Marybeth Babcock Actors in the Attic at 2:00; and Power Haus Cheer at 3:00. On the Accent Title lot is Charlie Selvert on violin and vocals at 11:00 a.m.; Chuck Ludwig and Chuck Ludwig on sax at 1:00. On the City Hall parking lot the CHS Jazz Band takes the stage at 11:00 and the local rock band favorite “Where’s Charlie?” performs at 2:00. From 1:00 to 4:00 Steve Bowers’ performs at Zarkie Music Store.

Added attractions include food, wine tasting at Bon Vivant, kids’ activities at the Ace Hardware parking lot, a student art show and a classic car rally at CarStar. Food vendors include Bully’s Barbecue, Pizza Hut, Columbia Market, Vickie’s Blue Ribbon Foods, J’Fires Market Bistro and “The Other White Meat Smokin’ Barbecue Team. The Student Art Gallery will show artwork from students in kindergarten through 12^th grade and a peoples’ choice award will be awarded. The Kids Art Walk will feature art activities that include a “Fall into Columbia” Mural, Going Green Modern Sculpture, Recyclable Weaving, Abstract Foil Relief and Plastic Landscape. There will also be face painting and the YMCA bounce and obstacle course.

Sponsors of the event include the City of Columbia’s 150^th Anniversary Committee, The Republic Times, The News Democrat, Artistic Expressions, The Hampton Inn, St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, Ron’s Pharmacy and Tokey Design. For more information visit the blog at artonthebluffs.blogspot.com. The committee may also be reached at artonthebluffs@hotmail.com.

See the previous entry here (scroll down) for a map of the event. Hope to see you there!

Click on the map to enlarge and map out all the wonderful venues you and your family want to experience!

There are so many choices...talented artists, creative activities for the kids, live entertainment up and down Main Street, Classic Car Show, delicious food, raffle drawings, beautiful hardy mums for sale, a scarecrow contest and much, much more!

Please come join us in the First Annual Art Walk and be a part of history!

Only 1 week to go!!

The countdown has begun!  

Only one week to go before Columbia's First Annual Art Walk!  It promises to be a fun filled day with a variety of activities that is sure to please everyone...from the many talented and diverse artists, the Kids Activity Center, the Student Art Gallery, the Car Showing, the excellent live entertainment, the wide variety of foods and drink...the list goes on an on!

Please be sure to take time out of your busy day to be a part of the First Annual Art Walk!

ART WALK MEETINGS

There will be two meetings this week:

Monday, September 21 - Hampton Inn - 6:30
Thursday, September 24 - TBD - 6:30

Lots of things to discuss this week...be prepared to share! Be ready to outline quickly and clearly what your committee needs before, the day of and after the event.

The first Art on the Bluffs Art Walk is almost here! We are almost ready...thanks for all you are doing!

MEETING LOCATION CHANGE

The meeting scheduled for Monday, September 14th at 6:30 p.m. has been moved from the public library to the meeting room at The Hampton Inn. We're tying up the loose ends and getting ready for a GREAT Walk!

JUST 3 WEEKS AWAY!

That's right, the first annual Art on the Bluffs Art Walk is just three short weeks away and we are EXCITED!! Do you have your calendar marked for Saturday, October 3rd? If not, do it NOW! The festivities take place along 15 blocks of Main Street in Columbia, IL. Over 60 artists will be showing and selling their works outside and inside 32 participating businesses. This is your chance to check out the great places to shop and do business in Columbia while purchasing art work done by artists that you actually meet. You'll also get to take in live entertainment at a handful of venues, eat, go to a wine tasting and check out the classic car show. The kids are covered too with a kids activities area that includes an art station and the YMCA bounce house and an obstacle course. There's also a student art gallery and airbrush demonstration to take in. Make a day of it, the walk is open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

ARTIST PROFILE

Name: Dave Norman
Hometown: Columbia, IL
Current Residence: Wandering Around America
Medium: Photography
Vocation: Writer/photographer
AoB booth location: Agnes Ross, Old Distillery Center
Art on display: Photographs--"Arches at Night" collection, "City Museum" collection, "Autumn: New Hampshire" collection
Book on display: "501 Paintball Tips, Tricks, and Tactics" (book signing)
Buzz: I'll offer a sneak preview of the "Columbia at 150" photo essay I'm working on for the Sesquicentennial, which will formally debut in January

Behind the Scenes--Getting Ready for Art on the Bluffs!

The fun and excitement about Art on the Bluffs begins, for the artists, several months in advance. From the work I like, I select the photographs that seem to work well for the event and the season--no one wants to see Christmas scenes in June, for example, but come the first week of October we'll be thinking about fall and decorating with dark reds and browns. So in August, I'm thinking about fall already, and hunting through my collections for the images. In this case, I'll display my "Autumn: New Hampshire" collection. I made those images over several years, while I lived in the White Mountains. It was very inspiring to watch the spectacular autumn colors sweep over Mt. Moosilauke and the Presidential Range, and light up the Kancamugas Highway like fire. Fall was exciting, crisp, beautiful--full of contrast between red leaves and blue skies, white foam on mountain streams and dark evergreens emerging from the disintegrating canopy. I hope my photos can bring a little of that to your home.

Shows like Art on the Bluffs also give us a chance to show our recent work, building on the excitement we get from our current projects. A few months ago I spent time photographing Arches National Park at night, and playing with light at City Museum in St. Louis. The real prep work for this show comes from getting these brand new collections ready for viewing--working with my lab to get the prints just right, working with my mat company to get the mounts I need, and then bringing all the pieces together in my studio. After the photo shoot is over, that's when the next phase begins: turning a digital image into art you can hold in your hand, made of archival material that will last for generations. From scouting photo locations and taking the pictures, to matting and mounting and signing the prints, I love every single step of the process.

The eight hour show on October 3rd will be, for many of us, the shortest step in that evolution. It is the culmination of months, or years, of carefully working inspiration into artwork. From one end of Main Street to the other, we look forward to sharing it with you.

About the author: Dave Norman is a writer and photographer from Columbia, IL, whose work is featured in sporting magazines and newspapers, and hisfine art photography is represented by the Underground Gallery in Lebanon, NH. His first book, "501 Paintball Tips, Tricks, and Tactics," is available now; his next, "Following Josh," will be available in 2010. www.davenorman.net

UPCOMING MEETINGS

There's just a few meetings left to finalize all the great plans for Art Walk day. There's a meeting this Monday, August 31st at the Library. The rest of the line up is as follows:

Tuesday, September 8th at the Library

Monday, September 14th at the Library

Tuesday September 22nd at the Library

and the last meeting is:

Monday, September 28th at the Library

All meetings start at 6:30 p.m.

If you'd like more information about the meetings or being a volunteer for the event please contact us at artonthebluffs@hotmail.com. We're looking forward to seeing you there!

WE HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN THE KIDS!

Yes! Bring the kids, there'll be plenty for them to do too! The YMCA is bringing their Kids Bounce and Obstacle Course to the Ace Hardware parking lot. The police department will be doing child fingerprinting. There will also be art activities that kids may participate in. Take in the student art gallery at Artistic Expressions. Check back for more details!

OTHER OFFERINGS

Art takes many forms and means different things to different people. Accordingly, in addition to the artist booths you'll find other offerings at the Art on the Bluffs Art Walk. There will be a Classic Car Show at Car Star, an air brush demonstration at Anchor Art & Frame with Thomas Adams, a tour of the historic Fiege House, a wine tasting at Bon Vivant and children's activities at the Ace Hardware parking lot. We'll let you know if we make other discoveries to add to the event!

GOOD EATS

You're going to work up a hunger shopping all the art offerings. When you get hungry head for the City Hall parking lot and the food booths. So far Bully's Smokehouse, Dairy Queen and Pizza Hut will be setting up booths, but there are still more vendors to come. We'll have a complete listing closer to the event. Keep checking back for the latest details!

THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT

In addition to the art booths at the walk there will be venues for entertainment and we're putting together a great line-up of performing artists. At this time we have about 10 local artists performing. They include the band "Where's Charlie?", Mike Brennan on violin, guitar and vocals, Chuck Ludwig on sax, Charlie Selbert on violin, Karen Lundy & Ernie Schoellhorn in a guitar duo, the YMCA Hip Hop dancers, and the CHS Jazz Band. There still may be additions to the line-up! Keep posted, check back with the blog often!

PARTICIPATING BUSINESSES

We'd like to thank the following businesses for hosting artists, food vendors and other activities related to the First Annual Art on the Bluffs Art Walk:

Agnes Ross

Wagner Photography

Mist Day Spa

Elements on Main

Dave Idle Glass Studio

Columbia Market

Memory Lane

Accent Title

Meyer Insurance

Mattingly Jewelry

Ace Hardware

Ultimate Tan & Nails

Our House Coffee

Conrad Press

Toby Search Country Companies Insurance

Estes Financial

Century 21

Thai House

Joe Boccardi's

Artistic Expressions

Power Haus Cheer & Pom

Tiny's Bar & Grill

Radical Rods

Car Star

First Bank

Zarkie

Tammy Mitchell Hines Realtor

Vida Verde Studio Salon

Concept Realtors

Ron's Pharmacy

Rugbuster

Naumann Realtor

Evalina's

Bon Vivant

Gruchala's

Laura Neal Gallery/Boutique

More participating businesses may yet be added. Thanks for making this event possible!!

DON'T FORGET - MEETING TONIGHT

Don't forget the organizational meeting tonight at CPSI in the Southwoods Center in Columbia at 6:30. That's at 235 Southwoods Center. Be there or be square.

ARTISTS OFFERINGS

So, what kind of art are you going to find at our Art Walk? The entries are coming in and now number over 5o participating artists. Most of the artists are from the greater Metro area. Artists from Columbia, Waterloo, Praire du Rocher, Belleville, Edwardsville, Nashville, Effingham and O'Fallon are participating as well as artists from St. Louis, Florissant, House Springs and Brentwood from the Missouri side of the river. You'll find watercolors, oil and acrylic paintings, photography, glass, mixed media, clay/pottery, jewelry, drawings, fiber art and more.

WE WELCOME OUR FIRST OFFICIAL SPONSOR

We're excited to have our first business sponsor on board. We welcome the help and partnership of the News Democrat. They are assisting us with our program and we will be inserting it in their paper on Thursday, October 1st. If you'd like to join the bandwagon as a sponsor please contact Teresa Hessel at 618-239-2558 or email her at thessel@bnd.com. If you are interested in making an in-kind contribution such as products or services please contact the committee at artonthebluffs@hotmail.com. Our call for artists remains open at this time. We are also still looking for volunteers. We're counting down the days till the big event!

COLUMBIA DAZE PARADE

Look for us in the Columbia Daze parade. We'll be passing out information on the event. It's going to be a great parade! Columbia is celebrating their 150th Anniversary so its going to be a banner parade! Hope to see you there!!

NEXT MEETING SET

The next organizational meeting of Art on the Bluffs is scheduled for next Tuesday, August 18th at 6:30 p.m. Note the change in locations. The meeting will be held at CPSI in the Southwoods Center in Columbia. CPSI is located near Motomart and Lighthouse Learning at 235 Southwoods Center. For more information contact us at artonthebluffs@hotmail.com.

MEETING TUESDAY 8/11

There's a meeting tonight at 6:30 at the Library. Plans are coming together. There are now over 50 artists participating. The food vendors are coming together. And entertainment has been lined up for a few venues along the walk. The walk will start at The Distillery Building and run down to City Hall with artists located in booths both outside and inside businesses along the route. Sponsors and volunteers are still needed. Please contact artonthebluffs@hotmail.com for more information on participating as an artist, non-profit group, volunteer or sponsor. We're looking forward to this first annual art event and hope you are too!

DON'T FORGET - MEETING TONIGHT

Find out what's going on with the art walk and get involved.  Attend the meeting tonight being held at the library at 6:30.  The artist applications are coming in and the deadline for artists has been extended to accommodate more artists.  Spread the word to any artists you know.  We also have food vendors lined up and entertainment performing throughout the day.  It's shaping up to be a great event!  Check back here for updates on artists, performers and vendors participating in the art walk.

NEXT MEETING

The next meeting of the Art on the Bluffs Committee is scheduled for Tuesday, July 21st at 6:30 p.m. at the public library.  If you have any questions please email artonthebluffs@hotmail.com.  Come out and lend your support to this great first annual art walk!

SO WHAT'S THE ART ON THE BLUFFS ART WALK?

Columbia's first annual art walk is scheduled for Saturday, October 3rd.  The walk will cover a few blocks of downtown Columbia along Main Street and possibly some side streets.  Artists, most from the greater St. Louis area, will display their works inside various businesses along Main and in designated outdoor areas such as parking lots along Main Street.  In addition there will be entertainment venues set up along the walk, art demonstrations, a couple food courts, children's activities and participation by local businesses, such as a planned wine tasting.  It promises to be a great family affair with fun for all ages.

Stay posted by becoming a follower of the blog, we'll update you on everything from when planning meetings are scheduled for, updates on planned events, artists information, sponsorship opportunities and volunteer opportunities.  Mark your calendars now!

ART ON THE BLUFS WANTS YOU!!

That's right, we want you!  If you're an artist we'd like to invite you to participate in the walk.  If you're a business we'd like your help with sponsoring the walk.  There's a multitude of opportunities and I'm sure we can find one to fit your needs and help you promote your business.  If you're a community member we'd like you to get involved.  There's a lot of work to be done between now and the actual walk.  And of course there's the volunteers that will be needed the day of the event.  We want you to spread the word and invite your friends.  Last of all, but no less important, we want you to attend.  Come out and enjoy the day at the first annual Art on the Bluffs Art Walk.  It promises to be a memorable day and there'll be plenty of opportunities to buy something to take home and remember the day with!  If you'd like to participate in any way contact us at artonthebluffs@hotmail.com or watch the blog for notices of upcoming meetings and come to find out more about this exciting event!

MEETING TUESDAY 7/14

Just a reminder that the committee is meeting tomorrow night at 6:30 p.m. at Dianne Kearney's home, 944 Meadowview Lane, Columbia, IL.  Come get involved.  We need volunteers to help in the advance planning and to help the day of the event.  For more info send us an email.  And spread the word!

DON'T FORGET

Don't forget the meeting tonight at Harres Furniture at 6:30 p.m.  There's plenty of opportunities for you to get involved, in anyway you choose.  Come out and show your support!

WE'RE ON FACEBOOK

You've found the blog but have you seen us on Facebook too?  Check it out at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=72083969807.  You'll find updates in both places and a forum to discuss the event on Facebook.  And don't forget to leave your comments here too!  We're looking for your input and your help.  Got questions?  Want to help?  Email us at artonthebluffs@hotmail.com or leave us a comment here or a message on Facebook.  We look forward to seeing you at the Art on the Bluffs Art Walk on Saturday, October 3rd!!!!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY

Have a safe and happy 4th of July.  Looking for something to do?  Check out Columbia's 4th of July and 150th Anniversary Celebration at the Legion Park.  There are carnival rides, activities for all ages, a Washer's Tournament, food and drink booths, musical entertainment and it's all capped off by a grand fireworks display!  And mark your calendars now for the First Annual Art Walk by Art on the Bluffs, part of Columbia's 150th Anniversary Celebration!

CALL FOR ARTISTS

Art on the Bluffs and the City of Columbia invites you to participate in Columbia, Illinois' 150th Anniversary First Annual Art Walk.  The walk will be held Saturday, October 3rd from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  We are looking for a wide variety of disciplines of art to be presented at this walk.  There will be live music, a wine tasting, activities for children and food tasting along the route to draw additional visitors down Main Street.

Artists will be assigned locations along Main Street in Columbia at local area businesses to display, demonstrate and sell their fine arts and crafts or if you prefer, you may set up at an outdoor tent.

All interested artists must submit an application and a photo of their work to Art on the Bluffs committee for an assigned position on the walk.  Everyone is welcome but we need the application for contacts and examples of work to ensure the integrity of this event.  Your photo will be returned to you if you include a self-addressed, postage paid envelope.  You may also email photos of your work to artonthebluffs@hotmail.com.

There is a $30 fee for a location on the walk to help defer the costs of this event. Your work does not have to be about Columbia but if you would like to create some works on the history of Columbia and it's location along the Mississippi that would be wonderful.  You may request an application by email at artonthebluffs@hotmail.com and then email the completed application with $30 to Columbia City Hall, Attention:  Art on the Bluffs, 208 S. Rapp, Columbia, IL 62236.

MEETING MONDAY

The next meeting of the Art on the Bluffs committee is scheduled for this Monday, July 6th at 6:30 p.m.  A special thanks to Harres Furniture for hosting our meeting.  The meeting is open to anyone that wants to learn more about the event and hopefully would like to help bring this wonderful, inaugural event to Main Street in Columbia.  For more information contact the committee by email at artonthebluff@hotmail.com.

KIDS WELCOME

Kids are also going to be a big part of this celebration of art.  The newly opened Artistic Expressions, located at 122 E. Legion, right off of Main Street and across from the library, will host local student artists and activities.  Face painting, mask making and decoupage art will be a few of the activities available.  Refreshments and additional activities for kids will also be located along Main Street near Ace Hardware. 

NEXT MEETING

The next meeting of the Art on the Bluffs committee is scheduled for Tuesday, June 9th at 6:30 p.m. at the Columbia Public Library.  Come check out what's going on and find out how you can help bring this great event to Columbia.

On June 25th at 6:30 p.m. at the library there will be a Sponsorship Committee Meeting.  We will be discussing potential sponsors, sponsorship packages and presentation of these packages.  Please join us for this important meeting.  If you can't make the meeting but might be interested in helping to sponsor this event please contact us at artonthebluff@hotmail.com.

HELP WANTED

We want you, to help us with this first annual event!  We are looking for help with planning on a variety of committees (such as sponsorships, hospitality, entertainment, publicity/promotion, etc.).  We also need volunteers for the day of the event.  If you have a little or a lot of time and would like to help make this an annual event please contact us at artonthebluff@hotmail.com.  Thanks for your help!

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This is the home of the Art on the Bluff blog.